What is late stage dementia? What does that picture look like? and Lastly how long does a single stage last?

In the final stage there may be increased problems with swallowing, with coughing, perhaps with mobility, incontinence, and other physical activities. Sleeping will increase.

No one can really accurate predict the length of stages for any given individual. If you suspect your loved one is near the final stage, I urge you to have a hospice evaluation done, and enroll him as soon as he is eligible. A person with dementia may be on hospice a few days, a few weeks, several months, or even a year or more. This is how variable and unpredictable the final stage can be.

95 year old father (Alz) went into nursing home almost 3 years ago after a colon infection that severely weakened him and cost him his mobility. Alz didn't seem severe at the time but gradually things went downhill (yet at times he was sharp as could be). He liked eating and slept as many hours as a house cat. About six months ago he really started to decline, about six weeks ago he didn't want to eat anything but would drink the Ensure "shake". Now it is to the point he can't properly swallow and hardly able to take a sip of water. All in God's hands at this point. Just today I heard a 50 year old mechanic I know died of heart attack shoveling snow- no one knows when their time is up. Tamy- best wishes to you.

The disease process will usually appear to speed up as it advances. This is because there is less and less healthy brain tissue and more damaged areas. As the brain goes from having three pounds of tissue to only one pound, the final stages are faster. Families frequently report witnessing daily declines as opposed to gradual changes seen earlier in the disease. Also a process called cognitive reserve occurs in highly intelligent or educated persons. In these folks, the disease appears to be very rapid during the final stages of five, six and seven. Rather than five to eight years, the last stages happen over the course of just a year or two.

We are in early stages with both my parents but it seems my mom is going faster. However, she is healthy and strong at the same time. The losses of her memory through this past year are still shocking. So unsure about their future needs but it is good to read what others experience, so I thank you.

Look up Dementia Behavioral Assessment Tool. It will show you the estimated time for each stage, the behaviors identified with each stage and the estimated loss of brain tissue for each stage of dementia.

FYI2TAMY1: I'm guessing that this is one of the most troubling questions for those living with and caring for someone with Alzheimer's. From personal experience, it was one that rarely left my mind during the years of caring for my MIL with AD. She just passed away two weeks ago, at the age of 93. For the last three years that my husband and I were deeply involved in her life, her physical health was pretty good, too. I think she went into the last stage sometime during the past six months, but still, she seemed to be in and out of it even then until the last couple of months. It was at the end of August, when she began to lose her balance and began falling, which she had not had a problem with until then, that we began to fear where things were going. By the end of November it was clear that my MIL was entirely in the last stage, with changes in swallowing, balance, eye-hand coordination, communication, amount of time sleeping. When the end came, it came very quickly. We had talked with Hospice at the end of November, but we still thought that she would be with us for a few more months, so decided to wait until after the holidays to have them actively come in. However, about a week after that decision, we called Hospice asking for their support as soon as possible. This was particularly for help with getting my MIL cleaned up regularly, as she had become almost entirely unable to help in that process. Also, I was hoping for tips in getting her to eat more, as her appetite, which had been healthy until then, had dropped off dramatically. The only things that Hospice had really been able to do by the time of her passing were to arrange for a hospital bed, bedside commode and bathtub transfer chair, and to have an aide come and help get her all cleaned up. That last day, she had been bed-bathed, shampooed, massaged, and lain in a a very comfy hospitql bed (it had one of those scoop mattresses with a motor that shifts the pressure on the body constantly) in a freshly washed nightie, and covered with her mother's quilts. The bed was in front of the living room window, on a sunny day. If I had orchestrated the last day of her life it could not have been more perfect and peaceful. She seemed so comfortable, and went to sleep almost immediately after being cleaned up and put in bed. She had even used the bedside commode right before being settled in, and took a little water and juice. About an hour later, I realized I was no longer hearing her occasional snoring. When I checked closely, she was not breathing, but her eyes were closed and she was still in the same position that she usually sleeps in, slightly on her side. I called Hospice and a wonderful woman came and helped with everything from that point on through the night and stayed with me until I was ready for her to leave. We were all so blessed at the end, although we hadn't quite expected it yet.

I wish you well in finding answers to your questions, but they may be very difficult, if not impossible, to find. This is a very mysterious disease, and seems to vary considerably and unpredictably, from person to person. I found that the best I could do was to do the best I could to make each day as comfortable and as positive as possible. When things didn't go so well, I told myself that they would be better tomorrow, and they usually were. It's a roller coaster ride, but you have more control than you do on a roller coaster. The Serenity Prayer can be helpful at the end of the day or first thing in the morning. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference."

This sounds quite typical. Lucid one moment and better at other times. I'm wondering if he's not yet in the last stage, as people are generally pretty unresponsive at that time. A doctor can give you an estimate, but even doctors can be wrong on the time frame. As to how long a person lives, that depends a lot on general health. For in-depth Alzheimer's information I'd go to the National Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org.
Take care,
Carol